The present invention relates to a container having lateral supporting handles. Such a container is specifically suitable for supplying meals during flights, train and bus journeys.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,648,511 describes a container for tableware and food, for serving meals on board of an aeroplane. The bottom and the cover of the container are connected to each other by a fixed hinge at the backside. The container has at its front side an opening for putting in and taking out dishes with food from the closed, optionally stacked, container. The upper edge of the four upwardly sloping walls of the bottom of the container is provided with a downwardly bent edge, for fitting in the stepped walls of the cover of the container.
A container as described in the above-mentioned patent, is placed on a serving tray on board of an aeroplane. A large number of those serving trays, on which each time a container is placed, is stored in a service carrier, also called xe2x80x9ctrolleyxe2x80x9d, and is carried to the passengers during the journey. Each passenger receives a serving tray with a container, which contains the meal. The drawback of this combination of a serving tray and a container is that each passenger must be given two objects for lunch, which can move relatively to each other, by offering or accepting.
Alternatively, the food is placed directly on the serving tray and the serving trays are brought in the trolley to the passengers. The drawback of the latter method is that during sudden turbulence of the atmosphere and movements of the aeroplane or other vehicle, the food can slip off the serving tray.
It is an object of this invention to provide a multifunctional lunch box for catering, as a container that may be carried efficiently to the passenger without the use of a serving tray.
Specific objects of the invention are that the lunch box is reusable, recyclable, may be closed and stacked.
Further specific objects of the invention are that the lunch box may be provided with an insert having several freely locatable recesses for tableware and food.
Another object of the invention is that at the inner- or outer side of the lunch box or at both sides advertising is possible.
Still another object is that several containers stacked one behind the other may be easily pushed in and pulled out of a rack, without the need to stretch the arm too much.
The above mentioned objects are realised by a container having the specific features defined in claim 1. Specific features for preferred embodiments of the invention are set out in the dependent claims.
According to the invention, the bottom of the container is provided with multifunctional supporting arms or supporting handles. These supporting handles may be used for handling the container. By giving them the correct form and size, the containers may be placed or pushed in almost all trolleys, or fixed dispensers, such as food automates, such that the use of serving trays is superfluous. The supporting handles 13, 14 may run completely parallel with the bottom side of the bottom wall 21 of the bottom 11. In a preferred embodiment, the supporting handles 13, 14 are bent or wavy.
Due to specific hinges in a preferred embodiment, the container may be opened according to various positions.
By a specific choice of the hinges, the container may be easily assembled and disassembled, i.e. by dismounting the cover from the bottom. This way, it is possible to provide the cover of the container with a colour that is different from that of the bottom. One or both parts may be made more or less transparent. The disassembled parts may be cleaned separately in a dishwasher. The bottom, as well as the cover may be reused a number of times. This number may be different for the bottom and the cover.
The inner side of the bottom has substantially the form of a cuboid or a rectangular parallelepiped. As such, the bottom may be freely filled with a suitable shrink form or vacuum form having recesses or holes for food and tableware. By means of inserts made of cardboard, paper or plastic, the articles may be secured in the container, thereby avoiding shifting or mixing them.
Specific embodiments allow advertising by the container: by application of insert sheets, stickers, prints or protrusions in the material of the container for logos or texts.
The container may be manufactured by several materials. In a preferred embodiment, the container resists a temperature of 100xc2x0 C. Each part mayxe2x80x94possibly locallyxe2x80x94be provided with a specific texture. The structure may vary from very smooth to very rough or uneven. On places for stickers, the texture may be limited to a value of maximum 0.02 mm, to avoid jeopardising the fixture of the sticker on the surface. The texture may positively influence the look of the container, or accentuate advertising on insert sheets. Moreover, the texture may positively influence resistance against scratches.
In a preferred embodiment, the cover and the bottom are provided by a closure, such that opening and closing of the container may be easily done by hand. Most preferred is a snap, click- or snip closure.
In a specific embodiment, a raised edge at the bottom side of the bottom wall of the bottom provides a restricted contact area of the bottom with the surface on which the container is placed (temporarily). The raised edge also improves the ability for stacking the container. It is advantageous to provide a recess or hole in the upper side of the cover, which is compatible with the raised edge of the bottom, such that about twenty containers may be stacked vertically without any problem.
More advantageous results and embodiments of this invention will become clear from the following description and figures.